The Moon and All Its Faces
Image Courtesy: Strike Magazine Chattanooga
Most of you reading this have probably heard the phrase “the man on the moon,” but who is this mysterious individual and what does he represent? The first things that come to my mind as a nineteen-year-old college student are DreamWorks, Goodnight Moon, (a favorite childhood book), and the American moon landing in 1969. However, moon-lore goes much further than any pop-culture associations that may have sparked in your brain. The moon is one of the oldest symbols in human civilization, each culture having its own take on the significance. In specifically examining the West, the moon’s association can be examined and used to draw conclusions about modern day society and the relationship between religion and technology.
Across many cultures, the man on the moon represents an individual who in some action against the church disrespected a divinity and was then banished to the moon. It was commonly held in ancient Christian tradition that the man was “caught gathering sticks on the sabbath and sentenced by God to death by stoning” (Fandom.com). The idea of a man living on the moon without divine intervention is no longer unthinkable, with modern technology and humans having reached the moon over 50 years ago.
Taking a look into how the world has shifted since the Industrial Revolution, technology has taken off and completely transformed society into a two-dimensional world. Life has become faster paced, and in a work-based Western culture society expects people to keep up to the rate of technology. As a student, I can relate to many modern struggles of a young adult, whether it be the stress of setting oneself up for success, paying bills while working part time, student debt, etc. At what point does our false sense of control become an act of playing God? Albert Einstein was quoted stating that “science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” The codependent relationship between science and religion allows references to the man on the moon to harbor both attitudes of progress and tradition.
Image Courtesy: Facts and Details
In the religious context, the figure that is known for working on the Sabbath represents the decrease of Christianity in the Western world, as well as the technological progress since the Industrial Revolution. We can separate the modern advancements in Astrology from the timeless mythical and religious traditions, represented by the moon cycle and lunar calendar’s creation in 2637 B.C.E. Science, as referenced by Einstein, needs religion to keep the curiosity of exploration alive. Alternatively, religion needs science to separate the belief system into proven fact and hope, and as proven for the last 50,000 years of life on Earth, religion is a core part of human culture. Both science and religion manage to incorporate the moon into their approaches to explaining how the world works. So, the next time you look at the sky, think about how many eyes have scanned it over time, what it’s meant to them, and what it means to you.
Strike Out,
Written by: Rebecca Morgan
Edited by: Sarah Singleton
Graphic by: Cindy Cao
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